L'Espoir Final
by THE Elvenking
Summary: Il est fini.
1. The Fall of the Strongest

L'Espoir Final- The Final Hope  
  
I don't own C/H  
  
Chapter One- The Fall of the Strongest  
  
Hobbes sat down on a stump in the forest. It was kind of nice, really. Calvin hadn't been to faithful, but he'd given him a nice spot outside, and sometimes they'd play Calvinball. However, most of the days would be spent drinking a tea and reading classics.  
  
Hobbes sat down and opened "A Tale of Two Cities". He began to read aloud. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." he began. Immediately, a figure appeared. It was a dark, shadowy figure. Hobbes looked in shock as the figure grabbed him. Hobbes bit the stranger's arm and attempted to maul him, but it was to no avail. He was lifted and carried away, kicking and screaming.  
  
The next day, Ms. Wormwood vanished. The police reported signs of a struggle, but no fingerprints. The same occurred to Mr. Spittle. And Mrs. Derkins. And Mr. Derkins.  
  
Calvin was baffled. He was a teenager now, had blond hair spiked straight up, and had a scar on his right cheek from his last battle against Moe. Tracer Bullet was stumped as well, but Bullet was still confined to Calvin's mind. Calvin's Dad never returned from work one day. Then, Moe vanished.  
  
Calvin and Susie talked about it. Rosalyn had disappeared a few days earlier, and Susie was living at Calvin's house for now. They were baffled. Calvin's mom beckoned him to her room, and Susie came as well.  
  
"It's time to show you something." She said. She was in her early fifties now, so she had a slightly rough time moving to the room. She picked up a remote, and the three vanished.  
  
Calvin watched in shock as he dropped down a tube with Susie next to him. Where his mother was, he didn't know. But he continued to drop down. Finally, he landed on a featherbed. He felt it for a while, then stood up.  
  
Calvin's mother appeared with Uncle Max, the only two remaining adults. "When I was your age, I fought crime and evil. However, I am no longer your age." She sighed. "So, I'm turning the entire shebang over to you." Uncle Max nodded and show the teenagers how everything worked.  
  
"Now, then, it's time for the return." Calvin began, placing on a red jumpsuit and cape, "of STUPENDOUS MAN!" he placed a helmet, visor and all, on his head and smiled.  
  
Susie looked at him sarcastically. "That's not how Stupendous Man looked." She rolled her eyes at this. Calvin scratched his head, then boldly declared, "STUPENDOUS MAN VERSION 2.0!"  
  
Susie blinked. Silence filled the room. However, silence slowly became determination. 


	2. Stupendous Man Can't Save You Now

L'Espoir Final- The Final Hope  
  
I don't own Calvin and Hobbes  
  
Chapter Two- Stupendous Man Can't Save You Now...  
  
Stupendous Man observed the sky. It was dark, filled with the hatred born into the world, the hatred that had existed since Adam and Eve had eaten that fruit and shattered the dream of Eden for everybody. Red was in the sky, a red filled with all the demons and their hell in the world. A red belonging to blood. A dark, evil red.  
  
Susie was alongside him, dressed in a blue jumpsuit. Her eyes were covered with a green mask, a green seen only in moss. She looked beautiful enough to frame.  
  
Calvin gestured to a group of robots. The two jumped down, and the robots immediately looked at them. "HMM..." one of the robots said, looking at Susie. "THREAT... LARGE." The robot turned now to the caped and helmet- bearing figure. "THREAT..." At this moment, the eye of the robot broke. Calvin chuckled to himself, bringing his hand to his mouth, then launched a barrage of punches and kicks at the robots, and Susie tore at them with him.  
  
The two suddenly stopped. The robots, all seven of them, laughed. Suddenly, they split at several joints, and the world became a dark smog for a second, and only limbs remained.  
  
Susie suddenly saw another being, this one wearing a mantle. He was black, from crown to heel, except for two golden, gleaming eyes. "Excellent, you are as my master predicted." He smirked. He then extended a hand, and with one finger, he lifted Susie. He used another finger to knock her out.  
  
Calvin stood in shock. Susie lay in the hand of this demon, and here he stood, as the one girl he lov... er, hated, was being stolen. If there was one fight that ever belonged to a person, it was the fight against he who stopped his rival. The rival was theirs to fight, theirs to defeat, and theirs to kill in cold blood.  
  
It would have been sad if Calvin had stood there, but before these words had finished their way through his head, he had jumped at the creature.  
  
Calvin threw a punch, a kick, two more punches, a punch-kick combo, and continued to send out his full fury towards this abomination. He launched series after series of attacks, crowning one volley off with another, more intense, attack. If it would take his energy to stop this beast, then so be it.  
  
A cloud of smoke appeared, and a red swirl around it. However, the volley suddenly stopped, and Calvin collapsed. The being laughed, not even showing as much as a dent. He punched Calvin once in the eye and threw him into a lake, then turned.  
  
Calvin swam ashore when he regained control. He choked, not seeing a small pool of blood near where his body had fallen.  
  
He limped back home, where his mother took him inside. It was terror, pandemonium, and even... hell on Earth.  
  
Calvin's mother put an icepack on Calvin's right eye, the eye that the punch had fallen on, as she began to talk.  
  
"So, were's Susie?"  
  
Calvin shrugged.  
  
"Stupendous Man must rule again!" Comforted the parent.  
  
"No." said Calvin. "Stupendous Man can't do it. Tracer Bullet can't do it. Spaceman Spiff can't do it. Only I can do it."  
  
The next day, with the sky still as dark as the night before, Calvin met the creature again.  
  
"So, you're not wearing that cape again?" asked the shadow.  
  
"Nope." Calvin smirked, spitting to his left. "I'm ready."  
  
With these words, the two warriors charged at each other. Neither was scared, neither afraid of losing, since neither planned to.  
  
Their fists met in midair, and Calvin connected a punch to the figure's stomach, who countered with a blow to his head. The two exchanged fists, each losing stamina with each blow. Calvin and his opponent both coughed up some blood from the sheer power. Finally, Calvin collapsed.  
  
"You were a worthy opponent." Smiled the figure. "But now, your marauding days are coming to an end." He prepared to hit Calvin.  
  
"You leave him alone." Came a deep voice. It was Uncle Max. Calvin smiled a bloody smiled, but a smile none the less. Uncle Max jumped onto the beast, sending him to the ground. He turned to Calvin and mouthed the word 'run'.  
  
Calvin took off, and Max after him. The figure chuckled. Neither was a challenge, neither a threat.  
  
Calvin stopped in front of the house. Max stared at Calvin. "ARE YOU INSANE? NOBODY CAN TAKE ON THAT GUY ALONE!" screamed the uncle. Another voice echoed from down a corridor.  
  
"I might be of help." 


	3. The New Master

L'Espoir Final- The Final Hope  
  
I don't own C/H  
  
Chapter Three- The New Master  
  
Calvin and Max looked down the corridor. It was a shadowed figure, albeit not the evil one. It stepped into the light to reveal a tall male, brown hair, a scar running down his right cheek, and a tilted black hat over his left eye. On his back was strapped a sword.  
  
"The name's Drake." He said. "I feel as though I can help you." Calvin acknowledged his presence with a running kick. Drake caught Calvin's foot and threw him into a wall. Calvin jumped off of the wall.  
  
"Not bad." Calvin smiled. "I can do one better." Smirked Drake, and with these words, his eyes turned blue.  
  
Calvin was frozen in his tracks. "What the..." he asked. Drake chuckled. "You can't move until I say so, or until I blink."  
  
For the next three months, Calvin trained with aid from Drake. At the end of the three-month session, Drake looked Calvin in the eye. "Calvin." He stated calmly. "I want you to imagine everybody you know in great pain. Think of how your victory has been stolen. RELEASE YOUR ANGER!"  
  
Calvin let out a scream that made one's blood boil. Two hairs flew in the air. His eyes produced tears in a steady stream. His face became a blood red, then a purple. His teeth grit into each other. Suddenly, Calvin collapsed.  
  
Drake stepped over, his boots making a squeaking noise. Drake picked Calvin up from the ground and smiled. "You've gained much strength from that exercise, but it's nearly impossible to repeat." Drake paused now, then, in an awful voice, said, "I think you're ready now."  
  
Drake and Calvin walked down the streets. In their three months of training, their world had gone from an empty heaven to a vacant hell. Calvin saw Drake clutch his saber's handle. A sneer penetrated his lips  
  
The shadow appeared again. "Ah, Drake, I see you're back." He chuckled.  
  
"Back to stop you." Drake said.  
  
The shadow burst into hysterics. "Good luck."  
  
The two charged at each other before Calvin even knew what was happening. Calvin jumped into the fray and offered Drake his support. Drake pulled back and watched Calvin beat mercilessly on the shadowed figure. However, Calvin was losing stamina. Drake focused on the shadow and froze him, and he and Calvin attacked.  
  
It was all jabs, kicks, elbows, and punches for about a minute, then Drake released the shadow, who collapsed. Dead.  
  
Calvin smiled. "Yes! The demon is dead!"  
  
Drake shook his head. "That was just the first demon in this demonic world." He sighed.  
  
A voice came from the remains of Susie's home, stating, "That's right, amigo."  
  
Drake's face paled at the sight of this, and Calvin scowled. "Who are you, to speak with such authority over us?"  
  
"Who am I?" replied the creature. "I'm your nightmares, your hatred, your fears, your anger, your sorrows, and, in short, your worst nightmare." Drake pulled his saber from its scabberd. There was a flash, a roar, and the next thing Calvin knew, Drake was on the ground, dead. Calvin was ticked. He shouted to the abyss, "Je suis l'espoir final!" And, with those words, Calvin charged into battle. 


	4. The Way of the Warrior

L'Espoir Final  
  
I don't own Calvin and Hobbes  
  
Chapter Four- The Way of the Warrior  
  
Calvin laid punch upon punch, kick upon kick onto the figure. He watched the figure just stand, arms folded, taking the damage. Suddenly, he went on the offense. "Allow me to take control." He smiled. With a punch, he insured that Calvin would bleed. With a kick, he sent Calvin into a wall. With a laugh, he walked away.  
  
Meanwhile, far away...  
  
"So glad you saw it my way." Smiled Moe, sitting on his throne. The figure laughed. However, neither of these factors were important. The important factor was that Hobbes was standing at the side of the leader, a patch over his left eye.  
  
"Now, Hobbes," Moe began, "You will be our third line of defense. When Maxin fails, you will save us."  
  
"Consider it done, sir."  
  
The next day...  
  
"Ugh." Calvin thought. "I'm inferior to somebody, after all." Suddenly, he felt a strange calm come over him, and he picked up Drake's sword. "Master, I will not fail you." He said, determined.  
  
Calvin began to walk home. The rain was coming down, putting out the fire. Calvin suddenly saw a mother bring her baby close to her in a ruined house. He clenched his teeth and fists alike, then turned and ran into the sunset, determined to find his enemy.  
  
Maxin landed. "Took you too long." Calvin said nothing. "What's the matter, tiger got your tongue?" he asked. "Speak, coward." Silence.  
  
"AAARGH!" shouted Maxin, rushing towards Calvin. "I finally understand you." Calvin smiled. He drew the saber. There was a flash of steel, a horrible scream, and the two warriors were apart from each other.  
  
Calvin collapsed. Maxin suddenly clenched a deep wound on his chest. He found another, and another, and another, until he fell to the ground, dead.  
  
Calvin forced himself up. "Another one falls to me."  
  
Hobbes saw this, and, as Max cursed, let out a triumphant smirk. He pulled out a dagger, and aligned it with Max's head. One wrong move, and he'd die. One of them had to die. Hobbes gulped. Time for atonement. 


	5. The Raid

L'Espoir Final  
  
I don't own C/H  
  
Chapter Five- The Raid  
  
Hobbes held the dagger up, blood dripping from the handle. He bowed his head. "A fitting end to your life." He sighed to Moe, tossing his eyepatch onto the ground. He spit onto the floor, then prepared to open the great oak doors leading to Moe's room.  
  
"I wouldn't be so hasty." Came a voice from the shadows. Hobbes stood perfectly still, drawing his sword from it's scabbard. "My, my, my great guard, did you think I was that stupid?" Came the voice. Metal could be heard resonating throughout the empty hall. Moe drew his sword and stepped out, and the two counter-crossed each other.  
  
Meanwhile...  
  
Calvin stepped in. "Who's the greatest now?" he asked. No response came. Calvin frantically searched the house and the secret rooms to no avail. It was empty. Suddenly, a soldier with a giant M on his gun jumped out, obviously working for Moe. Calvin knocked the gun out of his enemy's hand. "Where did you take them?" he demanded.  
  
"To... to Moe's Palace." He said. Calvin snarled, then hit the guard in the neck, knocking him out.  
  
Calvin brought his clenched fists to his side. "If you beat me there, tell your friends I'm coming." Calvin then walked out. He passed a procession of refugees. "Your procession may end here, good people. I have come to aid you." He shouted to them. Their leader shook his head, and they continued. Calvin extended his gloved hand, then clenched it as hard as he could. With several fragments of his shirt slashed off by his enemies and his pants turned into shorts on one side, he continued, furious.  
  
Back at Moe's Lair...  
  
Moe slammed Hobbes into the wall. "Too bad." Smirked Moe. "You were getting fun."  
  
Hobbes forced himself up. "Laugh now, Moe, but somebody far greater than I is coming. My fight is in vain, but it will stop you." He laughed psychotically and lunged at Moe.  
  
"INTRUDER ALERT!!!" Screamed the alarm. Moe slammed Hobbes into the wall. "Show me the intruder."  
  
Calvin hacked his way through ranks of Moe's grunts. He kicked open a door to the prison that had been designed to hold back ten men. Calvin's Dad waved to him as Calvin slowly unlocked each cell. Susie was the second to be let out, after Calvin's Dad. She ran to him and held him in her arms. Calvin was nervous, but returned the gesture. Susie gently kissed his cheek. Calvin blushed a deep red.  
  
Calvin let out each of his friends and relatives. "Where is Hobbes?" Calvin asked Susie. Susie sighed. "He's with Moe, doing who-knows-what." Calvin smiled and told everybody, "Get out of here and find the Mystic Jewels." The Mystic Jewels, of course, being the artifacts that could restore any inanimate object to it's past condition that only those select few knew of.  
  
Calvin kicked open the door to Moe's room in a similar fashion. Moe smiled. He kicked Hobbes out of the way. "Calvin... be careful." Hobbes moaned.  
  
Calvin's eyes narrowed. "Right."  
  
Moe taunted Calvin. "You're a fool! I'm going to crush you and throw you to the four winds."  
  
Calvin thrust out Drake's sword. "We'll see." He stated calmly. "We'll see." 


	6. Calvin vs Moe

L'Espoir Final  
  
I don't own C/H  
  
Chapter Six- Moe vs. Calvin  
  
Moe smiled. "Hopefully you'll be more of a challenge than your friends." He pressed a button, and a circular area lifted from the middle. Calvin hoisted Drake's blade into the sky. For Max. For Susie. For Hobbes. For Drake.  
  
Moe and Calvin charged at each other, and fought so intensely with their sabers than it seemed humanly possible. Calvin allowed sweat to fill his forehead and shot his sword straight into Moe's arm. Moe reeled in pain and kicked Calvin.  
  
Calvin fell backwards towards the edge. He managed to grab the edge of the platform. Hobbes helped him up, despite his wounds.  
  
Moe laughed and charged up a blue orb of energy in his left hand's palm, then hit Calvin with it. Calvin fell to the floor. Hobbes extended his hand. Calvin brought his glove to his mouth to wipe the blood from his mouth. "Hobbes... you are the final hope... L'Espoir Final... All this time, I've fought to stop Moe in hope of gaining the title of the Final Hope, but now... the strength is in you..." Calvin smiled.  
  
"What of you?" Hobbes asked.  
  
Calvin looked into Moe's eyes. "I'll stop him. Here. Now."  
  
Hobbes nodded. He jumped off and closed the door just as he heard Calvin punching Moe. Wondering why Calvin didn't use the sword until he saw a metal blade at his side... Drake's Blade had another owner.  
  
Susie found out what happened, and she went berserk. Hobbes tried to stop her. "The best way to help him is to wait."  
  
Susie punched Hobbes, stole Drake's sword, and walked onto the elevator to the platform where the fight was happening. Moe laughed and placed a bleeding Calvin on the ground. He instantly charged at Moe.  
  
Hobbes watched in horror. Moe pounded mercilessly on Susie. She, too, was becoming a bloody body. Hobbes nodded his head, and cleared the thirty feet that suspended the platform in a great pounce.  
  
"Leave them alone." He stated calmly.  
  
"Haven't you learned?" asked Moe.  
  
"That doesn't matter."  
  
"Well, then, why don't I summon my army?"  
  
"Yes, do it. I'm sure that they'd love to see you die like the rat you are."  
  
Moe looked shocked as he sent the order. "COME, TROOPS!"  
  
Hobbes, meanwhile, knelt over Calvin and spoke some Elvish. Calvin got up, better. Hobbes did the same with Susie. Moe, meanwhile, saw this.  
  
"Ha! Here's my army!"  
  
The door opened, and in streamed an army, indeed- an army consisting of Calvin's parents, Rosalyn, Uncle Max, Ms. Wormwood, Charlie, and Calvin's "friends" from school.  
  
Hobbes turned to Moe and smiled. "Who is the victor now?" he asked. 


	7. The End

L' Espoir Final  
  
I don't own Calvin and Hobbes.  
  
Chapter Seven- The End  
  
Moe smiled.  
  
"It's over, Moe!" Calvin shouted.  
  
"Over, you say?" he asked. "Don't be so naïve, Calvin."  
  
At that time, a giant door opened from behind them. Out rushed a red dragon, scales that echoed the flames seen only in a place no truly good people go. The dragon stomped.  
  
Calvin jumped into the air and kicked the dragon, who reeled in pain. Hobbes, meanwhile, knew better.  
  
He walked up to the dragon and stared at it. The dragon stared back. Calvin heard a voice in his head.  
  
**Calvin. Hit Moe now.**  
  
**Hobbes! Is that you?**  
  
**Yes. Moe is controlling the dragon with all of his strength.**  
  
**Got it.**  
  
With those words, Calvin grit his teeth and brought all of his power into one punch. It hit Moe, and sent him flying. The dragon vanished. Calvin smiled. Susie stepped up alongside Calvin.  
  
"I'll take the others." Hobbes told Calvin. "You guys finish him."  
  
"Got it." Susie smiled. Nothing, not even an alien invasion, could stop them now.  
  
"You're stronger." Moe said, standing up. "Let's just eliminate the others now, shall we?" With those words, a blue ball of energy pierced Uncle Max's heart. Hobbes picked him up, and the others ran.  
  
Susie closed in on Moe, following Calvin. Moe whimpered like a child. He'd been bluffing, and now it was time to pay the piper. Calvin inserted his left fist into Moe's stomach, then his right, and continued as Moe coughed up blood. Calvin then sent Moe reeling with a roundhouse kick. Susie appeared behind him and jump-kicked him. The two beat up Moe in a steady procession.  
  
Meanwhile...  
  
The magic rubies were all in place from where Calvin's parents had hidden them. Hobbes looked as a mighty white tiger came from them. "Speak your wish." He stated. Hobbes shouted back up eleven words that would change the world.  
  
"Restore everything to how it was before Moe began his invasion."  
  
Back at Moe's citadel...  
  
Calvin kneed Moe. Suddenly, a beam of light came from Moe. More appeared, and more after that, and Moe vanished. Calvin smiled as the fortress disappeared. He dropped down before Susie and caught her.  
  
Susie landed in Calvin's arms, and she brought her hands through Calvin's long, yellow hair as she kissed him. Calvin returned the kiss and brought his hands through here brown hair. The others cheered from outside the fortress, and they returned to where they had been.  
  
Later that day...  
  
Calvin and Susie were walking down the street as Uncle Max, who had been "restored" by the wish drove by. He waved. Hobbes looked on from a tree by "Hobs Crk." He folded his arms and smiled at Calvin. "Until we meet again." And with those words, Hobbes shrank to a smaller, inanimate tiger.  
  
"Welcome, Hobbes." Mr. Bun said at the gates of the home for old stuffed animals in the sky. "We've missed you."  
  
Hobbes smiled. "My adventures aren't over yet," He began, "Not just yet." And, with these words, he turned. "Adieu, L'Espoir Final." He saluted Calvin's rough direction, then entered the gates. 


End file.
